Evil Twin Studios' Ward 13: 2015 Recap

For this #FlashbackFrightday, we start dipping into new territory--great haunts from 2015 that are, unfortunately, not returning for 2016. There are many reasons why this may happen. Sometimes, it's a matter of funds and financial success. Other times, the owners literally move away (case in point: The Empty Grave this year). Still other times, there are personal matters affecting the designers or producers that preclude a return.

In the case of Evil Twin Studios, highly acclaimed producers of the Theater of Terror, Raymond Hill Mortuary, and last year's Ward 13 attractions, the problem was securing a location for the haunt. Haunted houses don't just spring up out of nowhere. There is far-ahead planning that must occur to negotiate the rental and use of a commercial space, factoring in build time, production, and deconstruction, and for haunts that do not have permanent locations, this can derail a season if not adequately addressed in advanced enough time.

So it was with ETS, who hope to come back in 2017 with an even scarier production. But for now, we look back at their offering last year--an exploration of an old asylum where cruel and unspeakable experiments were performed on already deranged and lunatic beings. But among those at the Raymond Hill Sanitarium, even the most hardened feared Ward 13, the laboratory housing the most secret and vile of horrors. Lets take a look!

Welcome to the Raymond Hill Sanitarium.

Presented by Evil Twin Studios, complete with photo op!

The ticket booth is to the left. Entry is straight in.

But first, some precautionary warnings and safety spiel from the security guard.

Lets venture in...

In the lobby of the Raymond Hill Sanitarium, the receptionist is... disinterested.

Meanwhile, a patient to the side sits playing chess. With herself.

"Who are you here to see again?" *eye roll*

Sign in over here.

OH NOES DROP PORTRAIT SCARE!!

Well, she thought it was funny.

Not that 30 seconds of continuous laughter is unnerving or anything.

The furnishings in this asylum are quite... unwelcoming.

OK, that's enough from you.

The receptionist was so good at making us believe she hated us.

I guess we're being allowed in for our visit.

The openings were not always typical doors. Stepping over and under things was not atypical.

This room looks infested.

This patient was constantly feeling itchy.

In the next room, it's time to take our drugs!

This patient liked the drugs.

We're not patients? Too bad. Lets take them anyway.

Oh boy, time to go on a psychedelic trip.

This is strange.

That's definitely not a gorilla lurching toward you. Nope. That would be mad!

Into the children's ward.

Who likes creepy kids?

Here's a creepy kid. Creepy kid was creepy.

After crawling through a tunnel, we came into a morgue littered with wheelchairs.

This was the infamous wheelchair scene, where guests were instructed to sit in a wheelchair and was pushed around through the yard full of crazy inmates by staff or other inmates.

It was wacky and amusingly fun, but then it was time to get dark and finally enter the dreaded Ward 13 of the sanitarium.

The looniest of the loony stored here.

We were led into a padded room, with only a woman in a straitjacket to accompany us.

And then, she snapped.

Onto the next room, which featured my favorite thing in the whole maze: Tub Boy!! He was cold. So cold...

Onto the medical area, where the horrible experiments were being conducted.

That's not suffering...

...it's science!

The room was littered with evidence of other atrocious studies.

This patient was receiving electroshock therapy.

It looked quite painful.

Or perhaps it was electric sleep aid. Permanent sleep aid?

Those instruments certainly didn't look inviting.

The doctor then turned his attention toward us.

We shuffled into the next space, only to be greeted by a horrid possessed creature.

If that didn't chase us out, a demented ward member carrying a taser certainly did.

I suppose this would be the appropriate time to end. She didn't take too kindly to our presence.

Ward 13 provided a haunt that was fun, thrilling, unpredictable, and immersive. The volunteer talent excelled in their roles and really owned their characters, while the theming and props were impressive, gory, and charming (in a horrifying way). Clearly, the folks at Evil Twin Studios love what they do, and that is reflected in their haunt. Plus, some of the innovative or uncommon elements of the maze, such as the fun psycho wheelchair ride, the dark shock walls, and the non-eye-level scares and crawl-throughs amped up the excitement, entertainment, and apprehension factor. The intimacy of Ward 13 really set it apart from many professional haunts, and even later on in the Halloween season, this attraction repeatedly came up in discussions with my fellow haunt enthusiast friends as an example of a breakout hit haunted house for October.

Proceeds from Ward 13 also benefited the South Pasadena Education Foundation, a private fundraising organization that supports educational programs and after school development to assist at need children and anyone looking to further their academic progress. It's another example of scaring for a good cause, and Ward 13 certainly did a lot of that!